Dear !*TITLE*! !*LASTNAME*!,
On Friday we played the 29th Stora Enso Cup, with FCCJ now taking back the cup. As always a very enjoyable event, although we had to endure some heavy rain for the first hour of play. But having played 28 events almost without any rain, it was inevitable that if would happen someday. Read the report below.
It is a bit more than three weeks social highlight of the year for the Nordic chambers, the Scandinavian Christmas Ball is held on Wednesday 7th.

We currently have about 190 signed up for the event but we want many more so register now if you have not done so yet. Click banner above for more.
Next week on Thursday 24th we are invited to the Waste Management Day in Miyoshi, Saitama Pref., organized by Ishizuka Construction Waste Recycling Plant in cooperation with a visiting delegation from the Lahti Business Region.
Read more below!
Our columnist has also this week made a new contribution in "Aoyama View", titled "US uproar puts the old world order in doubt".
Click banner at right for a good recap and analysis of how the US presidential election will, or might..., affect the US and the rest of the world!

The 29th Stora Enso Cup, the golf challenge between the Swedish and Finnish Chambers was played on Friday, 11 November at Golf Club Narita Hightree in Chiba Prefecture. After a rainy first 5 holes the weather improved and the players could a beautiful and very colorful course.
31 players participated in the competition (19 from FCCJ, 12 from SCCJ), including four guests. Notable was that 21 of the players were Japanese.
After the Swedish Chamber had won the previous event in April, the Finnish Chamber got now revenge, beating the SCCJ by a fairly clear margin, 2.7 strokes, 91.42 versus 94.16 as average for the best 80% in each team. The FCCJ has seven more wins than the SCCJ, 18 against 11.
Please click link at right for a full report from the event.

For the full program, click here!
The event, incl. bus transport to Miyoshi (return by train) and lunch is free for FCCJ members.
For more about the Ishizaka Recycling Plant, click here.
Ishizaka is one of the most talked about companies in this field in japan and the CEO Noriko Ishizaka featured recently in TV Tokyo's popular Cambria Kyuden program and several NHK programs.
To register, click link at right.

Business News from FinlandTaxman sets police on Finns coming clean on undeclared overseas income
Finns alarmed by cracks in the previously iron-clad Swiss banking secrecy have come forward to volunteer information about undeclared overseas income to Finnish tax authorities. They were hoping for immunity from fines or criminal sanctions but dozens now face police investigations.
The Finnish Tax Administration has requested police investigations into 28 cases of tax fraud involving individuals who have voluntarily come forward to declare untaxed assets held overseas in foreign banks in places such as Switzerland.
The cases are linked to previously-proposed "active repentance" legislation tabled by Juha Sipilä's government roughly one year ago. However the draft bill was one of the ill-fated proposals hastily withdrawn by the greenhorn administration in the face of fierce public criticism.
The taxman called for the police probes into cases of suspected and aggravated tax fraud after processing up to hundreds of tax cases involving individuals voluntarily declaring their untaxed income in the hope of avoiding criminal sanctions.
Some of the cases date back to the beginning of 2015, suggesting that tax officials have taken nearly two years to decide on placing them in the hands of police.
According to information obtained by Yle, the unpaid taxes in question amount to tens of thousands of euros per suspect, representing investment income in the millions.
Usually individuals found guilty of committing tax fraud face fines or a maximum of two years in prison. The penalty in cases of aggravated tax fraud ranges from a minimum of four months in prison to a maximum sentence of four years.

Grin of the WeekWas it a Takata...?
A woman phones up her husband at work for a chat. . . .
He: "I'm sorry honey but I'm up to my neck in work today"
She: "But I've got some good news and some bad news for you dear."
He: "OK darling, but since I've got no time now, just give me the good news, OK?"
She: "Well, the air-bag works..."

If you have any comments, rumors, gossip or inside information, send it to: fccj@gol.com

ABOUT THIS BULLETIN
This bulletin is
published by the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (FCCJ) and
distributed to over 700 recipients among its members and related
organizations. FCCJ was established in April 1999 to promote trade and
economic exchange between Japan and Finland and has today 64 corporate
members, 12 individual and one special member.